CHAPTER TEN

 

Just like that, he was up and pulling her to her feet. "We can't have that."

"I didn't mean we had to go right now."

"But I've got plans for the afternoon."

"Oh? Are we going to sneak back into the house?"

"I'm taking you into town. You haven't seen much of Cailkirn yet."

To be accurate, she hadn't seen anything of the quirky little town. In two weeks, she'd never left his property. "True."

 

The drive into Cailkirn was shorter than she remembered, the views along the highway enough to keep Deborah's gaze fixed firmly out the window. "Is there anything not gorgeous about this state?"

"It's home."

"By choice. You could have taken the twins back to the Lower 48 after your parents' deaths." But even as she said the words, something told her Rock wouldn't have done that.

"They don't remember the fear and stress of moving to the next perfect address constantly. I wouldn't revisit that for them."

"Did you ever want to move?"

"No. Cailkirn was the first place that felt like home." The first place he'd felt safe. It was in his voice. Not to be missed.

"What was so special about it?"

"It's a small, close-knit community. No child is going to get lost here. If the twins didn't show up to school, their teachers stopped by to make sure everything was okay."

She wondered how much of that was the usual way of doing things and how much came from Lydia letting others in the community know how absent their parents had been.

"So, that whole no child left behind thing really works here."

"Yeah, but maybe not the way it does other places." Rock shrugged, cast her sideways glance before focusing back on the road. "Kids get help if they aren't getting it in school. The level of volunteerism here and in other small Alaskan towns is higher per capita than most other towns in America."

"That's impressive."

"It is. It means the whole community takes responsibility for the well-being of the town." The words might be just information, but the way Rock said them, that tone in his voice? The set to his shoulders?

It all made her feel like he was telling her something really personally important to him.

"It sounds idyllic."

"It can be."

"There have to be drawbacks."

"We don't have a mall. The nearest movie theater is in Kenai. According to Lydia, groceries are worth their weight in gold."

"I noticed you have a garden."

"Lydia has a garden."

"She has time?"

"I hire her nephew to help her out."

"Because she wants fresh produce."

"I would do anything for that woman."

"You've offered her enough money to retire, haven't you?" Deborah wasn't sure how she knew, but she was positive Rock had done that.

"She says she'll retire when she wants and not one day before."

Deborah laughed. "That sounds like her." She'd gotten to know the woman and they had indeed become friends.

Rock pulled his SUV into a parking spot on Main Street. The kitschy shops were crowded with tourists, the real wood boardwalk filled with more people moving from shop to shop.

After so much time spent at Rock's place, Deborah felt herself drawing inward at the sight, despite the usual crowds of her LA home. "Wow. It's a lot busier than I expected."

"There are two ships in port." Rock sounded dismissive. "We don't usually have more than one at a time."

"It's like this all summer?" she asked in surprise.

"Yep. Then the last cruise ship sails and suddenly it's as quiet as the middle of National Park lands right here in downtown."

"I bet you prefer that."

He shrugged, his expression wry. "I do, but I appreciate the new life the cruise ships have brought to our home."

He got out of the SUV and came around to open her door. Deborah wasn't such a feminist she minded small courtesies like this one. She smiled and stepped out. "Are we going shopping?"

"If you haven't been in them, the tourist shops can be fun." Rock placed a warm, proprietary hand to the small of her back.

"But you've been in them." And she couldn't imagine Rock enjoying the tourist crowds.

"Don't worry, hot stuff." He winked down at her, flirtation glowing in his sherry brown gaze. "I'll have fun showing you around."

"There you go, reading my mind again." He was way, way, way too adept at that.

"You haven't got much of a poker face for an actor, beauty."

"I don't play roles around you."

"I'm beginning to believe that."

Her heart skipped a beat, but before she got a chance to say anything else he guided her inside a rustic store filled with dozens of display cases of jewelry. It wasn't high end, but it was enchanting and Deborah was soon lost among the colors and unique designs.

She didn't know how long they spent there, but Rock never grew impatient, or rushed her. From there, they moved next door to an old-fashioned emporium.

She couldn’t believe how crowded the stores were. Not only with people, but with merchandise. The oddest assortment of goods sat side-by-side on shop shelves.

Right beside authentic ulu knives with their half-circle and wicked sharp blades would be a display of rubber moose that when squeezed, offered a colorful gas bubble. Beautiful, handmade jewelry shared shelf space with cheap t-shirts adorned with cheesy slogans.

One of which she thought would make a great gift for her sister. Bright pink, there was a female moose on the front in a tiara. Below were the words Coffee Queen.

"You don't drink coffee," Rock observed.

"Alicia, my baby sister, mainlines it." Deborah grabbed the t-shirt, surprised at the affordable price. The necklace that had caught her eyes was twice what she'd expected though.

Weird. And cool.

Rock maintained his patient, protective presence (keeping enthusiastic tourists from knocking into her several times) as Deborah perused the shelves and collected a decent pile of things she'd determined she couldn't live without, or without sending to the small amount of family she still had left.

Rock presented her with a small bag on the way out of the store.

She stopped in the middle of the busy boardwalk and looked up at him, trying to find a clue, as to what might be in the sack, on his handsome face. There was none.

She bit her lower lip, stopping almost immediately, shocked at herself for reverting to an old habit she'd broken herself of long ago. "What's this?"

"Look inside and find out."

"You thought there was one more thing I needed to take home with me?" she asked with a laugh, strangely reluctant to open the bag.

"Yep."

She shook her head. "I'm pretty sure there wasn't."

He just waited, not moving, but forcing the flow of people to split around them.

She pulled out a small black velvet bag. Not the tacky stiff kind, barely a step above paper, but soft and luxurious, a little nice for the tourist shop, she would have thought.

Inside was the hand crafted natural stone necklace she'd decided was too much of an extravagance. The beads interspersed with graduating sizes of leaves, culminating in one that would dip toward her cleavage in the right dress shining in swirling blues and greens.

"I didn't mean for you to buy this for me."

"I know."

"Are you sure?" She wasn't looking for a sugar daddy. Not that the necklace had been diamonds-and-gold expensive but it had been out of her price range.

His laughter was as shocking as it was welcome.

"What?" she demanded, borderline cranky.

He shook his head, like he she was just oh so ridiculous. "The look on your face. It's a necklace, not a contract to become my mistress."

"Can a woman be a mistress if the man isn't married?"

He shrugged. "Doesn't matter. It doesn't apply."

Okay. Maybe she was being a teensy bit ludicrous. She took a deep breath and let it out along with the sting to her pride that wasn't meant to be there.

She smiled. "Thank you."

He leaned down and kissed her, making her feel like maybe she should have been the one to offer the sweet token of affection. "You're welcome."

"Rock, who is this lovely young lady?"

Rather than looking embarrassed to be caught kissing Deborah in the middle of the boardwalk, or even a little annoyed as she might have expected by the nosy interruption, Rock turned a clearly welcoming smile on the elderly woman who had stopped beside them.

"Miss Elspeth, may I present Deborah Banes, soon to be film star and already hard working actor." It was a much more positive introduction to her career than she would have expected.

"Deborah, this beauty is Miss Elspeth Grant." He indicated an elderly woman with chin length red hair (though surely it wasn't a natural shade any longer) and sparkling blue eyes, the patina of loveliness still evident on her features. This woman had been a knockout back in the day and would still turn heads with her porcelain skin and air of youthfulness.

Miss Elspeth blushed and fluttered her hands. "Oh, you. The men in this town are too charming by half," she said archly to Deborah. "You'll have to watch yourself."

"I'll keep that in mind," Deborah replied dryly.

Rock gave the older woman a teasing smile. "Don't scare her off, Miss Elspeth."

"Oh, I wouldn't do that. Not at all. Rock's quite the catch, my dear. A real man's man."

"Miss Elspeth." Rock sounded pained.

And was that an embarrassed tinge on his cheeks?

Deborah made no effort to hold back to her smile. "Is he?"

"Oh my, yes!"

Rock glared at Deborah and then turned a pained smile on Miss Elspeth. "Deborah is here making a movie."

He must have been desperate to change the subject if he was bringing the movie up voluntarily.

"You're all staying at Northern Lights Lodge." Miss Elspeth's words had a bite of accusation in them. "I suppose Carey James thought our Knit and Pearl wasn't sophisticated enough for a film crew from Hollywood."

"I'm not sure Carey had anything to do with the arrangements for accommodation. It probably had more to do with the number of rooms available than anything else."

"But you're a small film company. I'm sure Alma said so."

"Even a small film crew is still a crew. There are technicians, actors, and production people." Deborah shrugged, hoping the older woman's feelings were assuaged.

She felt a peculiar reluctance to offend Elspeth Grant.

 

"You know it's owned by the Sutherlands, don't you? The Grants own the Knit and Pearl."

"Um, that's nice." What else was she supposed to say?

"The Sutherlands aren't all bad, of course. Even if Josiah has far too high an opinion of his lodge." Miss Elspeth muttered something else that sounded like and his matchmaking skills.

"It's rustic but very nice," Deborah felt compelled to say. "Though I'm sure the Knit and Pearl is lovely."

"You'll have to come for dinner."

"I'm not sure I'll have time."

"The mayor is a Sutherland too, you know?" Miss Elspeth said as if she hadn't heard Deborah demur. "On his mother's side. I hate to imagine how insufferable Josiah Sutherland would be if Sloan Jackson carried his name as well as some of his blood."

"You don't like Mr. Sutherland." The innkeeper had seemed nice enough to Deborah during her brief stay at the lodge.

"I like him fine, not that way, of course." Miss Elspeth blushed. "I lost my one true love overseas. He was a Marine."

"I'm sorry."

Miss Elspeth nodded. "I'm sure Josiah's glad Sloan Jackson doesn't carry his name when it gets bandied about with his proclivities."

The small-town mayor had acknowledged proclivities? Deborah wasn't sure how well that would go over, even in Hollywood.

"The man only takes his lovers from the cruise passengers." She whispered the word lovers. "They're here one night, two at the most. I'm sure that suits his purposes."

"His purposes?" Was the man a pervert? She was sure Carey had said Mayor Jackson was Rock's friend.

"He likes to tie his women up."

"Maybe you shouldn't be telling me this." In the middle of Main Street, in front of Rock. Deborah felt her own blush heating her face. And wasn't even sure why. They weren't her proclivities.

"Oh, we all know. We pretend we don't, naturally, but it's a small town." Miss Elspeth winked conspiratorially at Deborah. "He doesn't think any of the local women would like his bedroom adventures, but I'm not so sure he's right about that."

"Um, Miss Elspeth--"

"Don't you worry, dear. It's all safe, sane and consensual, I'm sure."

Deborah stared at the elderly woman, not a single word to say coming to mind.

"Don't look so shocked. I like to read." Miss Elspeth grinned, her blue eyes glittering with mischief.

Deborah looked up at Rock for rescue, but for once, he looked as lost she felt.

"Well, you two will want to get back to your date. Don't let Rock get away with too much, dear, but don't be too hard on him either. What's the fun in that?" Miss Elspeth dismissed them as if she hadn't left them both speechless with a little finger wave and a wink for Deborah.

Deciding the whole frozen fish look wasn't a good one for her, Deborah forced herself to start walking again, her new necklace tucked securely in with her other packages. "She's quite a character."

"Most of the long-term residents are, one way or another." Rock's hand slid into hers, his big fingers lacing between hers.

"Even you?"

"I'm a millionaire who feeds his own horses and participates in the Highland Games."

"You're of Scottish descent?"

"You heard Miss Elspeth. I'm an honorary Grant. The Knit and Pearl sponsor me in the Braemar Stone toss."

"Like you need them paying your entrance fees."

"No, but I wear their colors."

"Like a kilt?"

"Exactly like." And he didn't sound at all like a man who would be bothered in the least showing off his gorgeous legs in the Grant colors.

"And you throw a heavy rock?" she asked, picturing the rather primitive event and deciding that while she should probably think it was barbaric, she thought it sounded exciting instead.

"About twenty-five pounds of heavy."

For a man who tossed around fifty-pound bales of hay taking care of his horses, that was probably not a big deal, but still. Yum. "I can't wait to see."

"The games are in September," he dismissed easily. "You'll be gone by then unless Gamble runs way over schedule."

"Maybe I'll have to come back for them." It was the first time she suggested anything like maintaining their friendship beyond the making of the movie, but not the first time she'd thought of it. She wanted to hear his reply. Needed to hear it.

Best case scenario. He'd come to realize how well they clicked and wanted to explore that further too. He'd say something like his door would always be open to a friend's visit, or something.

Only he didn't answer, just gave her an unreadable look.

So, not worst-case scenario, but definitely not best case either. It hurt, but she hadn't really expected Rock to have figured out his heart this fast. Or admit he had one just yet.

Had she?

"So, more shopping?" she asked, beyond ready to change the subject.

Could anybody say awkward?

"Aren't you shopped out?"

She forced a grin. "I'm guessing you are."

"I had hoped to go for a walk along the water."

"That sounds almost romantic."

"Aren't we allowed romance?"

After buying her that necklace, making love to her in the sun? She thought they were already heavily planted in romance territory but didn't think he'd appreciate her saying so.

"A romantic walk along the water sounds wonderful."

"No jumping in."

"I don't skinny dip in front of witnesses."

"Oh really? What was I?"

"My lover."

"For the summer."

Her heart did a little flip at the reminder, but she forced a smile. "For the summer."

So, he wasn't keen on the idea of her coming back to visit. She didn't think her hint had been too subtle. Rock Jepsom was a smart guy. And maybe his silence had been more of an answer than she'd wanted it to be.

Miss Elspeth wasn't the only interesting character they met in town and by the time they sat down for dinner, after their walk along the water, Deborah was thoroughly charmed with Cailkirn and its inhabitants. If she was maybe on the verge of being just a little in love with one of them, well that was her business, wasn't it?

She looked around the restaurant, filled with tourists and locals alike, finding it easy to tell which was which by the way the wait staff interacted with them. "I can understand why you decided this was a good place to put down roots for you, Carey and Marilyn."

Rock's eyes widened with surprise. "It's not exactly big city."

"But it is a wonderful little town where the people clearly care about one another." His shock that she could appreciate things besides bright lights and big cities was starting to irritate her.

Hadn't he gotten to know her at all? Or romantic walks, thoughtful gifts and kind gestures aside, maybe his only interest really was her body. He knew it better than she did at this point, she was pretty sure. A little frisson of excitement at memories of how well he knew went zinging through Deborah.

Rock made a sound halfway between disparagement and awe. "You got that from a few nosy neighbors trying to figure out who my date is?"

"Everyone who has stopped us to talk has been a neighbor?" She found that hard to believe. Especially considering how far out he lived.

"Everyone in Cailkirn is a neighbor."

"Well, that makes sense."

"I notice you didn't ask if this was a date," he drawled with a tinge of sarcasm.

She gave him her best prim look. "Some might call it a kidnapping, but I prefer the term date."

"I gave you a choice about coming."

"So, a date."

"Does that mean you don't want anyone joining you?" a deep masculine voice asked from behind Deborah.

She turned her head, surprised to see the mayor. She'd seen his bio and picture on the town's website, but it didn't do him justice. Former Army Ranger, Sloan Jackson, was a definite hottie. With his brown hair cut and styled in the latest trend, molten grey eyes, a body on par with Rock's and features an action star or a rival politician would envy, he was the whole package. And a bag of chips.

"Sloan." Rock nodded in acknowledgement of his friend.

Unable to forget Miss Elspeth's words about at the mayor and his preferences in sexual partners, Deborah felt her cheeks heat in an uncharacteristic blush as she met the mayor's undeniably flirtatious grey gaze.

"This is Deborah Banes, one of the film people."

"Nice to meet you, Deborah. Elaine Morganstein mentioned you when we met."

Deborah smiled. "It's good to have the town's support of the film."

"We came to an amicable agreement after some discussion," Mayor Sloan said. Which wasn't exactly agreement but wasn't denial of her words either.

"Surely filming is good for the town." She understood Rock's attitude but was surprised the mayor would have taken any kind of convincing.

The information she'd found on him and the town seemed to indicate he courted publicity.

Sloan smiled, the expression every bit as shark-like as anything she'd seen back in LA. "This time of year is busy around Cailkirn. Businesses are already stretched to their limits managing the tourist trade off the cruise ships."

"But surely our small crew doesn't stretch the town's resources too much."

"As I've said, Elaine, Art and I worked out an agreement that's good for your movie and our town."

She wondered if that had anything to do with the change in filming schedule for town shots. Then realized, of course it did. It probably explained why the catering service was out of Kenai as well, when originally, she knew the intention had been to use someone local.

Everyone local was probably already fully booked. Just like this diner, with not a single open seat, unless friends shared a table.

She wasn't surprised, or even really disappointed when Rock invited Sloan to join them. He stood up to sit beside her though, putting Sloan opposite them and got a little a growly when Sloan flirted with her over the menu.

"What's the matter, Rock, worried she's going to realize she might be interested in seeing what else is out there while she's visiting our little town?"

Deborah laid her hand on Rock's thigh before he could answer and whatever words he was about to say turned into a glare and a growl but remained unspoken.

Sloan smirked. "Don't tell me she's tamed you already."

"Damn it, Sloan."

The unleashed power she felt vibrating off Rock felt anything but tamed to Deborah. "Are you being an ass on purposed, Mayor Jackson?"

The mayor threw his head back and laughed.

Rock turned and kissed Deborah right there in the middle of the busy restaurant. And not like he'd done on the boardwalk either. This kiss was anything but sweet. It was fast; it was hot, and it taste of both passion and possession. And no, she didn't mind that even a little. This wasn't about being a possession, it was about being possessed.

And it turned her on. A lot.

When he pulled back, she took a second to catch her breath and then asked, "Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?"

Would he admit it out loud? His need to possess her? She was still smarting from his clear intention for their relationship still to end when filming did. Things had changed for her, but they hadn't for him. Or he simply wasn't willing to admit it if they had.

A man as stubborn as him probably never would be.

Rock looked at her, catching her gaze and keeping it, making her feel for that moment like she was the only other person in the crowded restaurant. "I like you."

"I do too, Deborah Banes." The mayor's voice was an unwelcome intrusion, but not one she could ignore. "And it's just Sloan to my friends."

She flicked her gaze to his and saw that the other man's eyes glittered with speculation. It was a familiar look, one she'd seen in other men's eyes many times in her life. And if she hadn't met Rock, she might have explored that look. Or not. This man was far too confident in his own attraction.

"I can't say the feeling is mutual." Deborah took a sip of her water and gave the mayor a reproving frown over the rim of her glass. "So far, all I've seen is your annoying side. How about you show me something else for the rest of dinner. Rock's your friend. There must be a reason why."

Both men laughed; Rock put his arm around Deborah and pulled her close to his side. "He's annoying all right, but he's got his good points. He was there for me when my parents died. He helped me with Carey and Marilyn."

"And that was a good thing?" she asked dubiously.

Mayor Sloan chuckled. "I tried not to be too bad of an influence."

"So, it wasn't your idea for Carey to affect an English accent."

"Is he still doing that?"

"Enough that you notice when he doesn't."

Sloan shook his head. "He's still hiding from who he is."

"Maybe not so much." Rock sherry gaze darkened with satisfaction. "He said the role is a statement, so he doesn't have to hide who he is as an actor."

"That takes guts," Sloan said. "I'd like to see that boy stop running."

Deborah pointed out, "He's not going to stop chasing his dreams."

"That's not the same thing as running from himself." The mayor sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

Dinner was nice, and Deborah did end up liking the mayor, but she was glad when she and Rock left the restaurant and were alone again. They were so rarely alone. Even when the film crew left, Carey was there. Their time alone was usually in bed and that always led to sex, then exhaustion…then sleep. Especially as early as most of her casting calls were.